summer reading

The August bank holiday is behind us, schools go back this week, and the shops are starting to sell Christmas cards (I know).  All can only add up to one thing: autumn is upon us.

I didn't do a whole lot with the summer, but I did do a little reading.  Would you like me to share what I read with you?  (Hint: the correct answer here is "yes").

I started reading "Mennonite in a Little Black Dress" by Rhoda Janzen back in the spring, but there was a long hiatus while I sat and stared at the wall during the immediate aftermath of A leaving.  I'm so glad that I picked it up again, it's a wonderfully witty and honest read.

I have never read any of Joyce Carol Oates' work before, but I read a review of her latest book "A Widow's Story" and just had to read it.  It's honest and raw and beautifully written - and emotionally draining.

I really needed something light-hearted after that so I chose "Confessions of a GP" by Benjamin Daniels. It was as amusing but also details some of the frustrations faced by those working in the NHS, so was sort of a busman's holiday.

Next up were also emotionally draining but in different ways to each other.  Practically every third person on the bus was reading "When God was a Rabbit" by Sarah Winman this summer, so I joined the herd.  And bought "Between Shades of Grey" by Ruta Sepetys at the same time (you've got to love Waterstones' deals)

I really, really needed light and fluffy afterwards and I got exactly that in "Round the World in 80 Dates" by Jennifer Cox (charity shop find at £1 - would have been rude not to) and "A Tiny Bit Marvellous" by Dawn French.  (Although this does have a bit of a disturbing subplot).

A few years ago, while I was visiting my friend Too in the West Country, I found the first of a series of locally-set books and have made a bit of a tradition of buying each new one here.  For me personally the main appeal of the series is that it is set in a town I love and have come to know fairly well.  And they are quite fun to read.  This summer's title is "In a Small Town" (by Debby Fowler).

I read "Life After Forty" by Dora Heldt while sunning myself on holiday.  The main character is a woman of a certain age dealing with the aftermath of a relationship breakdown.  Can't think why I was drawn to it... :-)  Even though the blurb nods at  "Bridget Jones' Diary" (apparently it is impossible to review any book about a single woman without doing so), this book is nothing like the other.  It is an absorbing story and I finished it in a day, so I had to delve into the delights that is an hotel book exchange, which is where I found a couple of thrillers to take down to the beach for the rest of the holiday.  "Therapy" by Sebastian Fitzek and "What to do When Someone Dies" by Nicci French.

And currently?  Why, currently I am reading "Life From Scratch" by our very own Melissa Ford.